"It saddens me that this may cause additional grief to the families of our fallen warriors."

Army Staff Sgt. Elias Bonilla, who sent the Times the photo on Monday after a friend spotted it on Facebook, said the pic suggested the Air Force wasn’t serious about the solemn task of transporting heroes killed in action.

"I cannot help but picture the faces of my dead (colleagues) that we (dragged) out of burning vehicles, dug out from collapsed buildings," Bonilla told the Times.

Several outraged commenters on the Times' website called for the airmen to be discharged.

"How dare you!" wrote Deedy Salie, who said she was military widow. "My husband came home in one of those boxes, not on his own two feet like these disgraceful people will…shame on you!"